Anyone who saw the glimpse of Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order at E3 earlier this month and thought it was disappointingly linear may be far more interested in this new footage, which demonstrates more of the game’s Metroidy influences.
On June 8 during EA Play, Respawn showed off a live demonstration of Jedi Fallen Order that I thought looked pretty fun, but undoubtedly underwhelmed a lot of fans. It seemed like a Star Warsy take on Uncharted, complete with brash quips, simple lightsaber combat, and lots of jumping on things.
So when word got out that the game was so much more than that—it’s inspired by the likes of Metroid and Dark Souls, complete with a ship and non-linear levels—everyone wondered why Respawn was showing off footage that made Fallen Order seem like an entirely different game.
Now we can see the full demo—shown privately to press at E3—and it’s way more impressive. (Watch it above.) Here’s game director Stig Asmussen in a public letter posted today, perhaps regretting their initial marketing decision:
We spent months going back and forth discussing the best strategy to release this content, and ultimately decided for the first-look, it was critical to present a focused 15 minutes of raw, in-game footage highlighting lightsaber gameplay that speaks to the Jedi fantasy in an empowering way. But it should not be mistaken that our combat is overpowered or easy.
I promise there is considerable challenge and depth to be found within our combat system. The same can be said about our approach to level design, which is crafted in a non-linear way with heavy influences from games like Metroid, Castlevania, and the Souls series. The game will feature several planets that the player can elect to travel to via starship. On these worlds unique abilities and upgrades can be found that open up new paths across other planets, making retraversal an essential part of the gameplay experience.
This is a lot to describe in 15 minutes of gameplay. Getting hands on the full 25 minute experience is best to completely understand it.
Jedi Fallen Order is out November 15 for PC and consoles.
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